Pfizer asks FDA to allow COVID-19 vaccine for kids under five
New England Council Member Pfizer requests that the U.S. authorize doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of five. With the coronavirus posing a threat to the health and livelihood of Americans of all ages, Pfizer asserts that young children who have not yet gained access to the vaccine would benefit from the vaccine at an extra-low dose, decreasing their chances of hospitalization and death.
For the company’s request to be fulfilled, both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would need to sign off. Though children are becoming hospitalized and facing death from COVID-19 at much lower rates than their older counterparts, Dr. Sean O’Leary of the University of Colorado asserts that authorization of this vaccine is still important, stating that no matter how unlikely the chances, “all of those hospitalizations and deaths essentially are preventable.”
The New England Council commends all the work that Pfizer has done thus far to stop the spread of COVID-19 and looks forward to the future impact of its efforts on the lives of Americans.
Read more in the Boston Herald.